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Rise, Strongest Warrior – Chapter 27: Army

An organization to protect the country from foreign countries or other dangers.

A body of organized soldiers with strict rules and orders.

That is an army.

To Yoo Igeon, an army was something he had to enter into one day and in fact, a place that he wanted to evade yet could not.

“This place is the army?”

They stood near a building in an area called Yangjae Station, an area that was ruined and turned into a field.

And the place they took him to was the building next to Gangnam Health Center.

Situated right next to Gangnam-gu Office Station, it was a stretch to call it an army camp.

“Well, the era where we were cooped up in the mountains has passed. Moreover, the mountains and farmland have now become monster havens. Because of that, there is a growing social problem where grains and other foods are in a severe shortage every year.”

Could you say a shortage of food was a social problem?

Instead, it was probably closer to a survival problem.

Listening to Kim Nakhoon’s tone, Igeon felt like he was listening to someone speaking about the youth unemployment issue of the past.

It was a serious issue, but currently there were no means to resolve it.

With regards to survival issues, this kind of lukewarm behaviour would be a problem.

While Igeon was silently following him, he grew curious about those who were managing the army.

“Let’s go.”

There were two guards standing in front of the 10-story building.

Naturally there were also snipers on the buildings next to it and four on the rooftop of the building itself.

Also there was an emergency squad carrying assault rifles.

After scanning the whole surrounding and grasping the situation, Igeon thought they were quite detailed in protecting the entrance.

“Sir!”

The guard who saluted to Kam Nakhoon gazed to the man who was like a skeleton next to him.

“He is an ability-user.”

At those words, the guard’s eyes changed at the speed of light.

There were a lot of ability-users with nasty personalities, but the problems arising from accidentally displeasing an ability-user weren’t on the ability-users to take responsibility but on the offender.

‘He is robust.’

The level of training and the method of training wasn’t bad.

“Are you the person in charge?”

Kim Nakhoon heard Igeon’s question and asked back in confusion.

“What person in charge?”

“Of this building.”

“This is the headquarters and we have a General.”

“General?”

“The one who has maintained the army and protected the civilians until now. He is General Choibon.”

“So is he an ability-user?”

“No.”

Igeon nodded his head and followed him.

He didn’t follow Kim Nakhoon because he was dimwitted and an idiot.

Neither was it for the food and shower.

Rather it was because he needed information and it was better to have many people help gather information instead of relying only on yourself.

Furthermore, an army would normally be supplied with information and as they had survived until now, they probably had a good method of obtaining it.

The kind of method to survive and helped them to survive in this era.

“But what is your name?”

Thinking about it, Nakhoon had brought him here without even asking his name.

Soldiers generally had their names written on their military uniforms.

You would know the person in front of you was called Kim Nakhoon and his rank in the army.

“It is Yoo Igeon.”

“You are a physical strength ability-user?”

”Strength?”

“You are not?”

During the fight with the Blue Lion, his speed had been fast, but his strength was also overwhelming.

Because of Igeon’s abnormal physical strength, it was normal for Nakhoon to think he was an ability-user who focused on strengthening themself.

The problem was that Igeon didn’t know this common knowledge.

He didn’t know that in reality, people called those ability-users who had two abilities “doubles” and that it was something amazing.

Additionally, amongst the best ability-users worldwide there was only one triple, meaning the ability-user had three abilities.

“Yes. That’s right.”

However, it didn’t mean that he would reply naively despite not knowing.

He learned the ways of the world through Shin An and inherited his knowledge.

Conject a reasonable reply from observing the other party’s tone and behaviour to hide oneself and gain information.

That was the most proper position Igeon was in right now.

“Are there a lot of ability-users?”

Kim Nakhoon tilted his head to Igeon’s question.

Why would he ask that? Just as if he just woke up.

But currently the wakening method of ability-users were different to before.

What if he was someone who slept in the past and just woke up?

It was impossible.

He immediately erased the hypothesis from his head.

He was just an ability-user with overwhelming strength.

That was probably Yoo Igeon’s identity.

“If you say there is plenty, then there is plenty. If you say there aren’t many, then there aren’t many. I understand that you are not acquainted with any guilds but you don’t even have a clan?”

“Clan?”

He couldn’t help but ask at this point.

Anyways, he still had to wait over an hour to meet the General.

“It’s as if you are someone who just woke up”

“It’s because I lived in an isolated place”

It was true.

Since he was forcefully put to sleep and locked in a life-support system.

“Do you know about the three great guilds?”

“I would like it if you would explain as if you are talking to a 12 year old child”

One to ten, he wanted to listen to everything.

“Geez”

Kim Nakhoon gazed a Igeon as if he was strange but obediently started to explain.

From his position, there was nothing good in offending such a strong ability-user.

Especially if he is someone the army is trying to invite.

“The three great guilds are Mad Management, Dual Blade and Genocide”

Like that, Kim Nakhoon explained the current situation to him for an hour.

He also explained about the army he was affiliated with and about the ruined government.

He even had to explain various things that he had thought were common sense.

Igeon was a great listener and Kim Nakhoon was someone whose job was to explain.

The reason why he was able to become a captain even though he was was not an ability-user was because of his ability to carry out missions and he was a good adviser.

After listening to his explanation Igeon frowned.

The conclusion made from all his talk resulted in one thing.

Humanity lost to the monsters.

*

The three great guilds were strong. They were primarily composed of ability-users and the guild masters were all A rank ability-user according to the current standards.

“What are the ranks?”

“There are machines that can measure a person’s strength and reflexes. It usually provides an average based on the user’s strength and reflexes of the user, however, actual combat abilities may differ so the standard is different in every guild.”

Listening to Nakhoon, Igeon thought it was funny.

Can you ascertain someone’s abilities using only numbers after having them fight with someone?

Hierarchizing people is up to them but grading ability-users through that system was nonsense.

But that didn’t mean he could complain to Nakhoon.

‘Everything is up to whatever pleases them’

Each of the three great guilds have their own routes and they live following that.

He also only understood after listening to Nakhoon that wide areas where monsters appear were called fields and the danger zones where monster gathered were called spots.

He also learned that the monster he killed was called a Blue Lion and it was a field boss monster.

‘Is that why it had that nucleus?’

The nucleus was where all the monster’s energy was contained, normal monsters probably didn’t have it.

The problem was that humans ranked these spots as well.

Based on the alphabet.

D rank spots could be resolved with army weapons.

C rank spots required an ability-user to accompany them.

B rank spots, required that you put your life on the line.

Whether it were ability-users or normal people.

Then the A rank spots.

It was an accepted fact that unless a guild master of the three great guilds interferes it is impossible to clear it.

Finally, the S rank spots.

Their existence symbolized the end of humankind.

“Indeed no ability-users can survive in S rank spots. Was it about two years ago? An A ranker ‘Yohan’ sent his clone inside and immediately shook his head and said ‘this may result in the collapse of mankind.’ ”

“That is the current guild master Yohan of Genocide?”

“Yes. That’s right”

It was absurd. He didn’t even try to go in and immediately gave up?

But he understood him.

If you were an existence with a brain and intelligence you would find a suitable comparison and research the unknown.

And an ability-user who had experienced an A rank spot would have given up challenging a S rank spot.

In the end, he admitted defeat even without trying to fight.

‘It’s annoying’

Igeon tried to keep calm but he naturally became very irritated.

Why?

Because currently the world was scattered with people who held opposite values.

These vermin who despite having power didn’t know how to consider others.

But he didn’t say these thoughts out aloud.

In that aspect, the army was unique.

The first purpose of this place was to protect normal citizens.

Although some of these normal citizens became military personnel and became a part of the military strength.

“Where do the rest of the people live?”

“For now the area towards Jamsil is pretty safe. The surroundings are also frequently patrolled. Well, the fact that Gwanjin district past the Hangang river is the territory of Dual Blade also helps.”

Assemble all the survivors in one place and destroy the surrounding fields.

If you station the troops where the spots are and destroy them the fields are also destroyed.

It was a rational operation method.

‘I’m even more curious as to seeing the person in charge now’

It was probably his intention, to assemble the people in Jamsil in order to benefit from Dual Blade’s proximity to the town.

He had a bit of a goodwill towards this person who had the cleverness to take advantage of the geographical aspect and the goal to protect the normal citizens.

The people in this place carried hope unlike what Kim Nakhoon said.

Even Kim Nakhoon himself.

“Why are the S rank spots leaving the humans off?”

“We do not know. However”

“However?”

“We believe they have their own conflict”

“They? You say it as if the monsters have intelligence?”

“You didn’t know? There are many monsters that can talk and are even smarter than humans above class two monsters.”

‘So the current state is like this’

He shook his messed up head and rearranged the information.

No matter what happened what he had to do was clear.

To revive his parents.

“Do you know anything about revival?”

“Revive?’

He nodded his head as he saw Kim Nakhoon talk of it as if it were something trivial.

He replied.

“It’s possible. In actuality the method was open since a long time ago. Since the master of Mad Management announced it. The only problem is the cost”

“Cost?”

“First you had to maintain the corpse completely. Then for the revival ritual you require twelve holy magicians”

“Holy magicians?”

“Different from ability-users they are magicians who research magic and they are the unique ones amongst them”

“Is that all then?”

“No. You also require a Class 2 monster nucleus and a holyland”

“Holy land?”

It were all unfamiliar words. But it was the purpose of Yoo Igeon’s life.

He probably became an ability-user for this purpose.

“It’s one of the spots and its usually where angel-like beings previously stayed at. Then strangely the place is filled with holy power and becomes the altar for the resurrection”

‘Monster nucleus, holy magicians, holy land, reclaim the corpses’

He nailed the four into his head.

At that moment, the door to the room they were in opened and a man in his 50s entered.

His muscular body was tanned from being in the sun, in addition he appeared to have a firm yet serious character.

Moreover he was wearing an army uniform.

“Salute! General Choibon”

Kam Nakhoon saluted him and then introduced Igeon as he stood.

“I am Yoo Igeon”

“I am Choibon”

They say you can roughly understand what kind of person you are looking at their eyes.

Igeon was able to grasp the true nature of this person as his eyes turned green using Shin An’s power.

Using Shin An’s power General Choibon was not who Igeon expected to be.

Proofreader Note: If you guys find errors, or have suggestions for proofreading, feel free to message me on the Kobatoland Discord channel @BlsdGrace.